He makes everything beautiful in its time...

The "mystery bulb", as I have called it, was dropped off on our front porch along with information for a landscaping business.  I didn't want to waste a good bulb, so I planted it, wondering what type of flower it would one day become.

Then our puppy got a hold of the plant and chewed the tops off every stem. They browned and withered a bit, and I wondered, should I just throw it out?  I decided to give it a chance and put it up on our patio table where Marlie couldn't reach it.  I watered it every now and then, and sometimes realized it was incredibly dried up and wondered why I was giving this ugly plant a chance.  As the stems grew longer and the end of summer approached, I was sure it wouldn't bloom and set the pot back on the ground.  I thought that it wouldn't matter if the dog chewed the stems, because I would probably just replant the bulb in the ground next year.

This cloudy morning, September 13th, I went outside to check on the dog, and to my surprise, I saw this gorgeous flower!  I immediately grabbed my camera and began snapping pictures, and as I did, I noticed that the petals in the middle make the shape of a beautiful heart. Suddenly I realized how much this plant reminded me of myself.

I think of my younger days....my "mystery bulb" days when I didn't know who I was or who I would become.  I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior at the age of 8 and I began to grow in the Lord.  Through my teen years I had times of growth and times of challenge.  Sometimes I was well fed and other times I felt dried up.  But the Lord pursued me, and I persevered.  At 18 I recommitted my life to the Lord.  I continued to follow Jesus and I continued to grow.  It took time, but God never gave up on me.  He makes everything beautiful in its time.  Just as the beautiful heart-shaped petal of what I now know is a Gladiolus, God has made my heart beautiful. He has given me the hope of eternity in my heart.

When I received this mystery bulb, I had no idea what it would look like in the end. I had no idea it would become something so incredibly beautiful.  My God is a big God, a mighty God, and I can only imagine the beauty He has awaiting His children.  What joy it will be to find out! Until then, I will live life to the fullest and take notice of the treasures along the way, like the gift from a stranger...my beautiful Gladiolus!

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. 

He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11